A corporate slave, Yu Qijian, who didn’t even have time to hang herself after work and go home, finally died in front of a PowerPoint presentation.
When she opened her eyes again, she was lying on a soft, antique-scented bed. Sandalwood smoke curled in the air, and beyond the bed curtains came muffled sobs. Someone whispered softly, “Empress Dowager, please grieve in moderation.”
……
She feigned amnesia with her personal maid and quickly learned her situation: twenty years old, recently widowed after her Emperor husband died, and now had an eight-year-old “cheap” son who had just ascended the throne.
Not bad. Early retirement. Pension secured.
“Nice.” Yu Qijian applauded herself inwardly. “Last life I worked myself to death. This time I’m retiring straight away.”
No more dealing with idiotic bosses or clients who couldn’t articulate a full sentence. No more staying up all night revising five versions of a proposal only for them to use the first one. No more lying in bed every night wondering whether jumping from the 26th floor would be faster than hitting concrete.
She almost laughed out loud.
……
Life in the Palace of Eternal Peace was indeed very nourishing.
Yu Qijian strictly followed her Three-No Policy: no early rising, no worrying, no meddling.
She slept until late morning, enjoyed delicacies sent from the imperial kitchen, listened to music in the afternoon, read storybooks at night, and gained two jin within five days of transmigration.
Until her maternal clan could no longer sit still.
“Empress Dowager, you cannot continue like this.”
Grand Tutor Yu Hong barged into the Palace of Eternal Peace for the third time, just as Yu Qijian was tasting newly developed crispy milk pastries.
Kindly, she offered him one. “Uncle, want a taste?”
“You’re still eating!” Yu Hong lowered his voice, veins bulging at his temples. “Seven memorials requesting you to take regency have already been suppressed by the Imperial Secretariat. That eunuch Fang Jinxian is trying to hollow you out—hollow out the Yu Clan!”
“Oh.” Yu Qijian took it back, took a bite, and squinted in satisfaction, unconcerned. “Then I just won’t take regency. My back hurts when I sit too.”
“You…!” Yu Hong’s face darkened. He said earnestly, “Do you even understand what you’re saying? The Late Emperor’s edict clearly stated that the Empress Dowager and the Chief Eunuch of the Imperial Secretariat would govern together. Yet now he alone holds the power to approve memorials. Even Yu Clan’s reports cannot reach the throne. If this continues, Yu Clan will be doomed!”
The hall fell silent for a moment.
Yu Qijian blinked, then lowered her head dejectedly. “I understand everything you’re saying, Uncle… but I’m scared.”
“Scared of what? You have the Yu Clan behind you.”
“I’m just a woman, and I’m young. None of the court officials take me seriously…” Yu Qijian knew perfectly well what she was doing, pretending to tremble. “And Chief Eunuch is so fierce. Last time I went to the imperial garden, he just looked at me and my legs went weak.”
Fang Jinxian’s gaze was like that of a feline—sometimes sharp, sometimes cold.
But Yu Qijian’s legs went weak because she had been climbing a tree to pick apricots that day and nearly fell. He just happened to pass by and stood silently below for a while.
Probably considering whether to catch her… or let her fall and have her body dragged away for burial.
“Useless!” Yu Hong said painfully. “You are the Empress Dowager. Have some presence!”
Yu Qijian buried her face in her arm and began to shake her shoulders.
“Wuwu, Uncle is scolding me. I know I’m useless, but I’m really scared. Those ministers are all so fierce, Chief Eunuch is also so fierce. I even have nightmares at night…”
She cried with great sincerity—barely any tears, but almost producing a snot bubble.
Yu Hong froze, likely never having seen such an irredeemable case.
After staring at her for a long moment, he finally sighed and left with a wave of his sleeve.
Once the footsteps disappeared outside the hall, Yu Qijian immediately stopped crying, picked up her teacup, and took a sip. Inside was her homemade milk tea.
Ah. So milky.
“Not bad acting.”
A voice came from the doorway.
A tall figure stepped in against the bleak daylight outside. His footsteps were light, shadows sliding across the floor, until he stopped ten steps away from the phoenix couch, allowing Yu Qijian to see his face clearly.
He wore black robes tied with a crimson jade belt. The collar, sleeves, and hem were tinged with deep red.
He looked twenty-eight but had the face of someone eighteen. His skin was overly pale, eyes narrow, faint dark shadows beneath them—a handsome but bloodless face.
His eyes slightly drooped, always carrying a hint of fatigue when he looked at people, as if he had just woken up.
He stopped in front of her, tall enough that his shadow completely covered her.
Yu Qijian did not react for a moment.
Fang Jinxian picked up an apricot leaf from the window.
“The old apricot tree in the eastern corner of the imperial garden has recently had wild cats climbing up to steal fruit.”
Yu Qijian: “……”
She had only gone there on a whim, and he had already seen it. Now he was being sarcastic—maybe there really were wild cats.
Fang Jinxian twirled the leaf, speaking evenly. “Wild cats are cunning. They sleep during the day and come out at night. What should be done with them, Empress Dowager?”
Yu Qijian looked innocent. “Chief Eunuch, cats are so cute. Why would we deal with them? Maybe they’re just hungry. How about… we leave dried fish under the tree every day?”
Fang Jinxian stared at her. His eyes were as deep as a pool.
He stared for a long time.
So long that Yu Qijian almost thought he was about to treat her like a wild cat, skin her, and dispose of her body.
Then he gave a soft chuckle.
“Empress Dowager, starting tomorrow, His Majesty will study at the Hall of Literary Glory at three quarters past the hour of Chen.”
“Oh, okay, I’ll make sure His Majesty wakes up early…”
“You will go as well.”
“…Huh?”
“You said you were afraid of ministers, afraid of the Chief Eunuch, and afraid of nightmares, didn’t you?”
Fang Jinxian tilted his head slightly. Half his face was bathed in the afternoon slanting sunlight, outlined in pale gold, the coldness about him fading slightly.
“Then come learn something. Once you understand, you won’t be afraid.”
After speaking, he left.
“Oh, right,” he said without turning back as he walked away, “that apricot tree has already been cut down.”
“……”
“So that no more wild cats climb it and break their necks.”
His footsteps disappeared completely.
Yu Qijian was left alone, staring at the leaf he had placed back on the windowsill.
What is this—forced assignment to a workstation? If you don’t work, you go to school instead?!
She sighed.
The Yu Clan was ambitious, playing long political games from the start by placing their daughter on the throne and cultivating their own people everywhere. Either they were planning to usurp the throne or become a powerful in-law faction.
Even if she didn’t want to slack off, she didn’t support a coup plan either—the risk was too high.
As for Fang Jinxian, his stance toward the Yu Clan was unclear. Logically, he wouldn’t want them to rival him, but he might also need a figurehead. Aside from the young Emperor, the Empress Dowager was the most suitable pawn, since his identity depended on imperial authority.
She needed to observe further.
But one thing she was certain of: she would never become anyone’s puppet.
What made Yu Qijian slightly uneasy was the single tear mole at the corner of her left eye.
She had asked her maid Shuanglan indirectly about any differences in her body, and that was the only thing mentioned as different from the original owner.
The familiar body made her certain she had transmigrated whole. But then… where was the original owner?